FILEDWITHTHE COURTSECURITYOFFICER

# g~~~:~" 

# - UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ALLAALI BIN ALI AHMED, et al., Petitioners,


### v. Civil Action

### No. 05-1678 (GK) BARACKH. OBAMA, et al., Respondents.
MEMORANDUM OPINION Petitioner AlIa Ali Bin Ali Ahmed ("Ali Ahmed" or "the Petitioner") has been detained since 2002, when he was a teenager, at the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Respondents ("the Government") argue that his detention is justified under the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40 § 2(a), 115 Stat. 224, 224 (2001) ("AUMF"), which grants the Executive the power to detain individuals engaged incertain terrorist activities. The Petitioner disagrees, denies that he has ever engaged in such activities, and has filed a petition for a writ of habeas .corpus [Dkt. No.1]. The matter is before the Court on Cross-Motions for JUdgment
.on the. Record [Dkt. Nos. 183 and 189]. Upon consideration of the Motions, the Oppositions, extensive oral argument, and the entire 

# -

# - record herein, Ali Ahmed's habeas corpus petition and Motion are hereby granted. I . BACKGROUND A. Procedural History Petitionerfiledhishabeas corpuspetitiononAugust 22, 2005 [Dkt. No. 1J. After filing there was extensive preliminary I litigation regarding ·the Court's jurisdiction to entertain detainees' petitions, the applicability of various statutes, and the appropriate procedures to be used. After more than six years of litigation, the most important legal issue was resolved by the Supreme Court in Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. , 128 S.Ct
. 2229 (2008)
. The Court ruled that detainees at Guantanamo Bay, none of whom are citizens of the Unitedstates, are entitledtobringhabeaspetitionsunderArticle I of the Constitution, and that the federal district courts have jurisdiction to hear such petitions. The Court did not define what conduct the Government would have to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, in order to justifiably detain individuals

-- that question was left to the District Courts. Id. at 2240 ("We do not address whether the President has the authority to detain these petitioners nor do we hold that thewritmust issue. These andotherquestions regarding 

# - -2­

# - the legality of the detention are to be resolved in the first instance by the District Court.")
. Nor did the Supreme Court lay down specificprocedures for thedistrict courts to follow inthese
cases. Boumediene was, however, definitive on at least two points: first, that the detainees are entitled to a prompt hearing, 128 S.Ct. at 2275 ("The detainees inthis case are entitledto a prompt habeas corpus hearing."), and second, that the District Courts are to shape the contours of those hearings, id. at 2276 (finding that balancing protection of the writ and the Government's interest in military operations, "and the other remaining questions[,] are within the expertise and competence of the District Court to address in the first instance."). In an effort to provide the prompt hearings mandated by the Supreme Court, many of the judges in this District agreed to consolidate theircasesbefore former Chief JUdgeThomas Hogan, for purposes of streamlining procedures for, and management of, the several hundred petitions filed by detainees. See Order (July 1, 2008) [Civ. No. 08-442, Dkt. No. l.]. On November 6, 2008, after extensive briefing from Petitioners' counsel and the Government, Judge Hogan issued a Case Management Order ("CMO") to govern the proceedings. This Court adopted, in large part, the provisions of that Order, while modifying it somewhat, as noted inAppendixA to 

# - -3­

# - Dkt. No. 152. 

### Much pre-hearing activityhas taken place under this Court's Case Management Order. The Government has filed the exculpatory evidence, automatic discovery, and additional discovery required under the CMO. The Government filed itsAmended Factual Return on October 10, 2008, 

### and amended it again on December 11, 2008. 

### The Petitionerresponded withhis Traverse onMarch 12, 2009. After a period of extensive discovery, both parties filed substantial briefs accompanied by extensive exhibits. On January 21, 2009 

### [Dkt. No. 129], 

### the Court set April 14, 2009, 

### as the date for the "meritshearing" on theCross-Motions for Judgment on the Record. The hearing was continued to April 16, 2009. 

### Less than a week before the original date for the hearing, and just before the Easter weekend, the Government informed Petitioner's counsel early in the day of April 9, 2009, and informed the Court later that afternoon at the Pre-Trial Conference, that it would be turning over to the Petitioner approximately 2000 

### pages of "newlyavailable" materialpotentially related to the hearing. Over the holiday weekend, the Government refused to tell Petitioner's counsel whether the last-minute submissionwas either "inculpatoryorexculpatory. II 

### Tr. at 15, 19, 21 (Apr. 16, 2009). 

### The Government did not make clear at what point in time these 

# - -4­

# - materials came into its possession. What is clear is that they
were packaged into a Factual Return and produced them in another petitioner's case on April 3, 2009. rd. at 18. The Government providedthesematerials to a seconddetainee's counsel onApril7, 2009. rd. at 19, 27. Yet nothing was made available to Petitioner's counsel until April 10, 2009. On April 13, 2009, the Government submitteda subset of these documents to the Petitioner and the Court, referring to it as a Supplement to the record (Dkt. No. 205]. On April 14, 2009, Petitionermoved to strike this Supplement [Dkt. No. 207J. The Government claimed that it had pointed out to Petitioner's counsel information that related to Petitioner in the form of a roughly 200-page Supplement that pared down the larger filing (the "needle 

### (in the haystack]," according to the Government), and that logistical challenges related to compiling factual returnsmade lateproductionunavoidable in this case. Tr. at 18-22 (Apr. 16, 2009). The Court granted the Motion to Strike on the grounds that therewas nowaythat Petitionercouldhave carefullyexaminedeven the pared-down Supplement at the last minute while preparing for this Merits Hearing, nor could counsel have done any independent investigationof what was in the materials even if he hadbeenable to read them all. The Supplement was not admitted as part of the


# --5­

# - record. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW TheGovernment bearstheburdenof establishingthatdetention is justified. See Boumediene, 128 S.ct. at 2270; Hamdi, 542 U.S. 507, 533-34 (2004). It must do so by a preponderance of the evidence. Order, Appendix A at § II.A (Feb. 12, 2009) [Dkt. No. 152-2]; see also Basardh v. Obama, No. 05-889, slip op. at 10 n.12 (D.D.C. Apr. 17, 2009). Initially, the Government tookthepositionthatArticleIIof the Constitution and the AUMF granted the President the authority to detain individuals. See Gherebi v. Obama, 2009 

### WL 1068955, at *8, *8 n.4 (D.D.C. Apr. 22, 2009). The Government asserted, "[a]t
a minimum,
. the ability to detain as enemy combatants those individuals who were part of, or supporting, forces engaged in hostilities against theUnitedStates orits coalitionpartnersand allies." Resp't's Statement of**~egal** Justification For Detention at 2 [Dkt. No. 103]. since the change in administration, the Government has abandonedArticle II as a source of detentionauthority, andrelies solely on the AUMF. Id. at *8 n.4. Further, it no longer uses the term "enemy combatant." Its refined position is: "[t]hePresidenthas the authoritytodetainpersons that thePresident determinesplanned, authorized, committed, oraidedthe terrorist attacksthat occurredonSeptember 

# - -6­

# - 11, 2001, andpersons who harboredthose responsible for those attacks. The President also has the authority to detain persons who were part of, or sUbstantially supported, Taliban or al-Qaida forces or associated forces that are engagedinhostilitiesagainst the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act, or has directly supported hostilities, in aid of such enemy armed forces." Resp't's RevisedMem. Regarding the.Gov's DetentionAuthority Relative to Detainees Held at Guantanamo Bay at 3 [Dkt. No. 174J
. III. ANALYSIS 

### A. Evidentiary Presumptions As a preliminary matter, some attention must be given to the nature of the evidence that has been presented in this case, and how the Court, as fact-finder, will go about evaluating that evidence. Inattemptingtomeet itsburden, the Government has provided evidence in the form of classified intelligence and interview reports that allegedly justify the Petitioner's detention. The reports contain the statements of Petitioner, as well as statements made by other detainees, that the Government argues demonstrate the Petitioner's status as a substantial supporter of the Taliban and/or al-Qaida. The Government requested that a rebuttable presumption of authenticity be granted to all the exhibits it intends to introduce. Given its representations that the specific documents included in its case against Petitioner, as well as the documents 

# - -7­

# - provided to Petitioner's counsel in discovery, have all been maintained in the ordinary course of business, the Court will presume, pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 803(6), that its documents are authentic.1 As provided for in the Case Management Order, the Government's exhibits will be granted a rebuttable presumption of authenticity and will be deemed authentic in the absence of any rebuttal evidence to the contrary. The Government has also requested that a rebuttable presumption of accuracy be granted to all the exhibits it intends to introduce. This request is denied for several reasons. First, there 

### is absolutelynoreason for this Court topresume that the facts containedin theGovernment'sexhibits areaccurate. Giventhe extensivebriefingandoralargumentpresentedbycounsel during the discovery phase of this case, as well the exhibits submitted at the merits trial, it is clear that the accuracy of much of the factual material contained in those exhibits is hotly
"[T)he requirement of authentication requires that the proponent, who is offering a writing into evidence as an exhibit, produce evidence sufficient to support a finding that the writing is what the proponent claims it to be." 2 K. Broun, McCormick on Evidence § 221 (6th ed.). See also 5 Christopher B. Mueller and Laird C. Kirkpatrick, Federal Evidence § 9.2 (3d ed.) ("rA] court called upon to resolve a dispute should not (at least in the absence of special circumstances) assume that a matter offered in evidence is what it appears on its face to be, orwhat the offering party claims it to be, but rather should require that party to establish by formal proof of some sort the identity or nature of the matter in question."

# - -8­

# - contested for a host of different reasons ranging from the fact thatitcontains second- andthird-handhearsaytoallegations that it was obtainedby torture to the fact that no statement purports to be a verbatim account of what was said. Second, given the fact that this is a bench trial, the Court must, in any event, make the final judgment as to the reliability of these documents, the weight to be 

### given to them, and their accuracy. Those final judgments will be based on a long, nonexclusive list of factors that any fact-finder must consider, such
as: consistency or inconsistency with other evidence, conditions under which the exhibit and statements contained 

### in it were obtained, accuracy of translation and transcription, personal knowledge of declarant about the matters testified to, levels of hearsay, recantations, etc.' Denial of the Government's request for a rebuttable presumptionof accuracydoesnotmean, however, that theGovernment must present direct testimony from every,source, or that it must offer a preliminary document-by-document foundation for admissibility of each exhibit. As the Supreme Court noted in

;1 While the Supreme Court did suggest in Hamdi that a rebuttable presumption "in favor of the Government's evidence" might be permissible, 542 U.S. at 534, it did not mandate it. In Boumediene, the Court clearly left it to the District Courts to craft appropriate procedures. Boumediene, 128 S.Ct. at 2272. 

# - -9­

# - Hamdi, 542 U.S. at 533-34, hearsaymaybeappropriatelyadmittedin these cases because of the exigencies of the circumstances. Finally, while parties always retain the right to challenge the admissibility of evidence, the Court will be guided by the Federal Rules of Evidence, inparticularRule 402, providing that "(aJ11 relevant evidence is admissible." Once all evidence is admittedintotherecord, the Court will then, initsroleas factfinder, evaluate it for credibility, reliability, and accuracy in the manner described above. B. Mosaic Theory 

### The Government advances six categories of allegations which, initsview, demonstratethat thePetitionerwas detainedlawfully. Above all, itstheory isthateachof these allegations

-- andeven the individual pieces of evidence supporting these allegations

-­ shouldnotbe examinedinisolation. Rather, "[t]heprobityofany singlepiece of evidence shouldbe evaluatedbased on the evidence
as a whole, 1/ 

### to determine whether, when considered "as a whole11/ 

### the evidence supportingthese allegations comes together tocreate
a "mosaic" that shows the Petitioner to be justifiably detained. Gov's Mot. For J. 

### Upon the Administrative R. andMem. in Supp. at 2 (internal citation omitted) ("Gov's Mot."); see also Tr. at 46 

### (Apr. 16, 2009) (describingmosaictheory). TheGovernmentargues, in this case and others, that "the evjdence meshes together to 

# - -10­

# - demonstrate" that thePetitionerengagedinconduct that allowsthe Executive to detain him. Gov's Mot. at 24. The Court understands from the Government's declarations, and from case law,3 that use of the mosaic approach 

### is a common and well-established mode of analysis in the intelligence community. This may well be true. Nonetheless, at this point in this long, drawn-out litigation the Court's obligation is tomake findings of fact and conclusions of lawwhich satisfy appropriate and relevant legal standards as to whether the Government has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the Petitioner is justifiably detained. The kind and amount of evidence which satisfies the intelligence community in reaching final conclusions about the value of information it obtains may be very different, and certainly cannot govern the Court's ruling. Evenusing the Government's theoretical model of a mosaic, it must be acknowledged that the mosaic theory is only as persuasive
as the tiles which compose it and the glue which binds them together just as a brick wall is only as strong as the individual bricks which support it and the cement that keeps the

See, e.g., McGehee v. Casey, 718 F.2d 1137, 1149 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (recognizing that the "mosaic-like nature of intelligence gathering" requires taking a "broadview" in orderto contextualize information) (internal citations and quotations omitted)
. 

# - -11­

# - bricks in place. Therefore, if the individual pieces of a mosaic
are inherently flawed or do not fit together, then the mosaic will split apart, just as the brick wall will collapse. Afinal pointmust be kept inmind. One consequence of using intelligence reports and summaries in lieu of direct evidence is that certain questions simply cannot be answered, i.e., there are
no witnesses to cross-examine or deposition transcripts to consult.4 Sizeable gaps may appear in the record and may well remain unfilled; each party will attempt to account for these deficiencies by positing what they think are the most compelling logical inferences to be drawn from the existing evidence. Accordingly, that existing evidence must be weighed and evaluated
as to its strength, its reliability, and the degree to which it is corroborated. In any event, the Government bears the ultimate burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that Petitioner's detention is lawful. Just as a criminal defendant neednotprove his innocence, a detaineeneednotprove thathewas acting innocently. In sum, the fact that the Petitionermaynotbe able to offer neat answers to every factual question posed by the Government does not relieve the Government of its obligation to satisfy its burden of proof.

No witnesses testified at the Merits Hearing. 

# - -12­

# - C. The Government's Witnesses The Government's chief pieces of evidence are the statements madeby four witnesses, who are orhavebeen detained at Guantanamo Bay. The Government is notrelyingonany incriminatingstatements made by the Petitioner. For the Government to prevail, itmust do
so based largelyonthe strengthof evidence providedbythe thirdparty witnesses. The Court will first examine the reliability of each of those four witnesses, and then turn to the Government's specific allegations. 1. ISN_­ The Government relies on the testimony of

, an individual whose credibility has been castinto serious doubt

-- and rejected

-- by anotherJudge inthis District. Gharani v. Bush, 

### Civ. No. 05-429, classifiedslipop. at

(emphasis in original) The Court agrees with Judge Leon's assessment. Although the Government tries to establish the statementsanddistinguishthiscase from

Ali Ahmed. 

# -

-13­

# - Pet. Ex
. 56 at 1-2 . Second, his inculpatory testimony is merely that he "overheard" conversations at**Guan~anamo** 

### Bay about Ali Ahmed's travels in Afghanistan. Gov. Ex. 26 (Jan. 5, 2005)) at 11. He 

# _FM
40 does not identify who made these statements and under what circumstances, or any details of the conversation. In additionto coming from an unreliable witness, the inculpatory statement offeredbythe Government isbaseduponmUltiple levels of hearsay.
Finally,

, has made accusations against a number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Many of those accusations have been called into question by the Government. See, e.g., Factual Return at**~32** 

### n.4 that describes credibility with interrogators as "in question"); but see id.

In sum, he has shown himself to be an unreliable source whose statements have little evidentiaryvalue, and that assessment is confirmedby the double-hearsayand lackof detail in his statement, as discussed supra. 2. ISN_­ 

### TheGovernment alsooffers statementsmadeby This detainee twice saidthathe 

# - -14­reliability because it The first

Petitioner and Ex. 25 at**~2.P.** The second degree of Gov. Ex. 4 at 4. In a third interrogation/thewitness deniedknowing "anyone./I Pet.Ex. 83 

### IIIIIIIIICITFReport (Sept. 23/ 2003» at 1. It isvery two

_ difficult to assess the recantation of his At best, it appears that the detainee was being totally uncooperative. See id. at 1. statements/ inand However/ andmost importantly of themselves, are equivocal and lacking indetail or description.

-15­ 

# -

### This type of evidence, riddledas it is withequivocation and speculation, is similar to what the Court of Appeals found to be

2008).



### statements are not entitledto significant weight
. 

# .. 3. ISN.­



### responded that the


# - -16­

# - saw whenhe was being smuggled from Zurmat to Banu." Gov. Ex. 23 

# IIIIIIIIFM 40 (Nov. 8, 2002)) at 3. Zurmat is inAfghanistanand Banu is in Pakistan.

Gov. Ex. 24 

### There is no explanation of coming from or how the witness knew him. The unnamed author of the intelligence report described
as having trained at Al 

### Farouq, and then fleeing to pakistan when the United states attacked. rd. at 1. 

### The author also characterizes the witness' reliability as

Gov. Ex. 3 

### Petitionercountersthat at 1-2. 

### statementsareunreliable. He points first to the fact that the witness has beendiagnosedby military medical staff as having a "psychosis." Pet. Ex. 101 

### (Detainee Medical Profile Flowsheet).6 Given the fact that there
It is very troubling that Petitioner learned of the witness' medical condition only through the diligent work of his 

# -

-17­ 6

# - are no details 

### in these documents, such as duration, seriousness,
or treatment of this condition, the Court does not give them a great deal of weight, although a witness' mental health always has
some relevance to his reliability. When, in October of 2003, the witness of detainees captured at he did not identify the Petitioner; rather, he claims that he did not know any of the men until he arrived at Guantanamo'Bay.? Pet. Ex. CITF Report (Oct. 4, 2003)) at 1.

Along with this background of mental healthproblems (limited
as that information is) and inconsistent identifications, there is evidence that
_ underwent torture, which may well have affected the accuracy of the information he supplied to

counsel, and not as a result of the GovernmentIs obligation to providehimexculpatoryinformationabout the statementsuponwhich theGovernment relies injustifyingdetention. Petitioner's counsel obtained this information when See CMO at § I.D.l. counsel turned over the document to him. It appears that counsel was able toretrieve the medical records onlyby resorting to a FOIA request. Tr. at 106 (Apr. 16, 2009).

7 The Court,inquired as to whether there**is~** that the Petitionerwas included among the detainees
.............. 

# liliiii Tr. at 114 (Apr. 16, 2009). TheGovernment hadno evidence

establishing that he was or was not part of the 

# -

-18­

# - interrogators.

# 1IIIIIIIIspent time at Bagram and the Dark Prison, andalleges that he hasbeentortured. Pet. Ex. 86 (Declarationof ) at**~~8i** 12-14. The witness has also recantedhis story that anotherdetainee took the trip with him from Zurmat to Banu. Pet. 

### Ex. 88

# IIIIIIII CITF Report (July 25, 2003)) at 2. He claims that he made inculpatory statements against that detainee because he feared further torture. Pet. 

### Ex. 88 at**~14.** The Government claims that the "residual fear" of torture had been overcome by June of Gov. 

### Ex. 3; 2004, whenhe identifiedPetitioner Tr. at 152 (Apr. 16, 2009), since he had already, back

# inlllllllll IIIIIIIIIbeen unafraid to tell his interrogators that he had given

them bad information in the past, Pet. Ex. 87. Basedon twoof these interrogations

_ - - one where he was honest with authorities about being

uncooperative and one where he again identified the Petitioner

-­ the Government asks the Court to assume that his alleged mistreatment at several detention centers was effectively erased from his memory. The Government has presented no evidence to dispute the allegations of torture at Bagram or the Dark Prison. See, e.

### g., Tim Golden, In D
..S. Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths, 

### N.Y. Times, May 20, 2005, http://www.nytimes.com/200S!OS!20/international/asia/ 

# -

-19­

# - 20abuse.html#. Nor has the Government presentedany**eV~dence** 

### that 

# IIIIIIIIclaimedtobeunaffectedbypastmistreatment. Therefore, the Court cannot infer that past instances of torture did not impact the accuracy of later statements. 4. 

## ISN.­ The Government alleges that a statement made demonstrates that Ali Ahmed received military training.
_ identified
_ from a photograph shown to him at Bagram. The intelligence report says thatAl-Qahtani stated, "191

# -liliiiireceivedmilitarytrainingin Afghanistan near Kabul." Gov. Ex. 1 (IIIIIIIISIR 

### (June 17, 

### 2002)) at 9. 

### The reliabilityof this identificationis discussedindepth infra, at Part III.D.2. D. Government Allegations 

### The Government rests its case on the totality of evidence encompassing six major disputed factual issues: the Petitioner fought in Afghanistan, trained in Afghanistan, used the kunya

_ traveled in Afghanistan with al-Qaida and/or Taliban

members, stayedat withal-Qaidaand/orTalibanmembers,

For his part, Petitioner claims to have gone to Pakistan before the attacks on September 11 

### (and the Government no longer 

# -

-20­

# - challenges that particular fact) in order to find a religious school at which to study the Koran. He denies ever going to Afghanistan, trainingatanAI-Qaidacamp, fighting againstanyone,
or being a member of a terrorist group. Traverse at 1-2, 25-27; Gov. Ex. 8 (ISN 692 FM-40 (July 30, 2003)) at 2 (reporting that Petitioner denied ever traveling to Afghanistan); Tr. at 38 (Apr. 17, 2009). Ali Ahmed admits that he was staying at a guesthouse for Yemenis in Faisalabad, Pakistan, where he was arrested

see also Pet. Ex. 11 in March of 2002. Gov. Ex. 43 (ISN

at 3 ("NOTE: in the files of those captured with the source, he is mentioned but not well-knownby any of the others with him at the The Government's argument challenges a number of facts in Petitioner's story, attempts to demonstrate that his explanation

that the Government makes about the For these allegations, the Court Such a finding is not a substantive ruling on the alleged activities of these detainees, all or some of whom have habeas petitions pending in this District Court.
-21­ 

# -

# - and that Petitioner's lies about certain facts cast doubt on his entire explanation of his activities and whereabouts. 1. Participation in Battle The most serious charge leveled by the Government is that Petitionerjoinedal-Qaidaand/ortheTalibaninbattleagainstthe United States and/or coalition forces. Ifproven, this fact alone would almost certainly justify Ali Ahmed's detention. The Government does notbase the charge ona hearsayconfessionmadeby Petitioner; in fact, he denies involvement in any terrorist activity whatsoever. Traverse at 25-27. Nor does the Government base this charge on direct allegations made by thirdparties. The Government admits it has presented no evidence stating that Ali Ahmed has participated 

### in battle. Pet. Ex. 6 (Requests for Admission) at**~41;** Resp't's Factual Response Statement at**~~28-29,** 31 [Dkt. No. 198]; Tr. at 22 (Apr. 17, 2009). Rather, the Government asks thatAli Ahmed's participationin battle be inferred from a web of statements made by witnesses who
were commenting on Petitioner's non-military activity. The Government urges the court to adopt its theory that because witnesses it offers as credible claimthat Petitionerhadmilitary training, went toAfghanistan, and thentraveledwithand stayedin the companyof al-Qaida fighters, andbecauseAliAhmed's denialof 

# -

-22­

# - such behavior is not credible, it is more likely than not that Petitioner fought with al-Qaida. Tr. at 15-16 (Apr. 17, 2009). The Government's positionon this charge rests on its mosaic theory. The theory cannot support the charge. First, itisextremelysignificantthat there is absolutelyno "direct" evidence, at whatever hearsay level, of Ali Ahmed's participation in battle. The Government has not pointed to any statement in the record that directly accuses the Petitioner of fighting. Tr. at 22 (Apr. 17, 2009). This weighs heavilywiththe Court. Second, assuming for themoment that thepatchworkofevidence
woven togetherby the Government is suggestive of the fact thatAli Ahmed's version of the events is not accurate and that he did travel with al-Qaida and/or Taliban fighters, it still falls far short of establishing the more serious charge that he tookup arms in support of al-Qaida and/or the Taliban. Given the gaps in the evidence, the Government must do more than rely on evidence of associations to support the inference that Ali Ahmed actually fought in battle. Even if the evidence is tobebelieved that Petitioner's story is false and that he was in Afghanistan, there simply is nb affirmative proof that he took up arms. The Court will not make the leap that the Government does, that simply because he was in 

# - -23­

# - Afghanistan, he was there to fight. Similarly, assuming that the Government's evidence of Ali Ahmed's time in Afghanistan is reliable, it does not represent strongenough evidence from which to infer that he participatedin the fighting. Although Petitioner would contradict Petitioner's explanation of his whereabouts at the relevant time, it is not per se evidence of

from proof that he actually fought wrongdoing. Likewise, several steps removed

Even if one assumes, arguendo, that Ali Ahmed was indeed in Afghanistan,9 Petitioner argues that one reason he may have traveledwith certainpeople 

### isbecause of the chaos inthe area as thousands attempted to flee a war-torn country. There is ample evidence in the record that Afghanistan was in chaos during this period, and that legions of people were trying to cross the border into Pakistan inorder to flee the violence. Pet. Ex. 82 at 2 (describing thousands of refugees in Khowst, Afghanistan); Pet. Ex. 105 at**~~A.4-5.** Given this reality, 

### it may indeed be the case that a
Government often accuses the Petitioner of 

### lIIIIIIIIIIIIIand therepy concedingthe accuracyof certain facts, when all counsel is doing is arguing in the alternative. This legitimate, oft-used strategydoesnotconcedeorwaive anyissues. 

# - -24­

# - youngArabman sought thecompany of those individuals withwhomhe shared a common language, religion, and culture, and that he may have gone on to staywith these samemen upon arrivingback**a~** 

# I11III. The bottom line is that even if Ali Ahmed lied about being inAfghanistan, that fact is not a sufficient basis for leaping to the conclusion that he fought with al-Qaida and/or the Taliban. 2. Training There is one directpieceof evidence in the record, allegedly "corroborated" by other witness' statements, that indicates that AliAhmedreceivedmilitarytraininginAfghanistan.

# _s

the source of the statement, which is reported as, "191 -_ receivedmilitary training inAfghanistan near Kabul." Gov. Ex. 1 at 9. The Government argues that this evidence, in combination with other witnesses' statements that place the Petitioner in Afghanistan and in the company of al-Qaida fighters, demonstrates that Ali Ahmed did indeed receive military training. There are significant questions about the reliability and accuracy statement. The nine-word hearsay allegation made byllllllllllllboes not describe the training with any specificity. For example, there are no details about which camp the training took place at, how long that training lasted, or what the training consisted of. The interviewwith was conducted in English and Arabic without an interpreter. rd. at 1.


# - -25­

# -

A related infirmity of the statement is that it does not purport to be based on direct observations. It is simplya declarative statement thatIIIIIIIItrained at some point, without any information as toh01llllllllllllrnew that. Evenmore troubling is the fact that, in later interrogations, when. 

# IIIIIIII asked list the of trained with, he was to names those he didnot include the Petitioner. 2003)) at 1-2. Despite these Pet. Ex. 69 MFR (Apr. 25, glaring weaknesses brief nine-word statement, the Government asks the Court to infer nd the Petitioner trained at the same camp. Tr. at 66-67 (Apr. 16, 2009).

Whethertrue

Government never brought this 10 the Court that Id. at l. comment to the Interestingly, the Court's attention. 

# -

-26­

# - or not, it is pure speculation.ll 

### The larger issue is that initial identification suffers from seriousreliabilityproblems. Firstandforemost, the detainee made the inculpatory statement at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan, about which there have been widespread, credible reports of torture and detainee abuse. See, e.g., Golden, Bagram, supra, at 19; Pet. Ex. 86 at**~12.**

11 

### was later interrogated on many other occasions. He never again mentioned Ali Ahmed, just as no other detainee or other individual whose statements appear in the record accused the Petitioner of training.

12 

### The same report asserts that
_ has never [actually] been tortured since being

### t~ustody in Pakistan." Pet. Ex. 68 at 1.

# - -27­

# - technique," carries less weight in this case. Gov, Ex. 14 (Decl. of at 2-3. In addition, it does not follow, as the Government argues, that recanting with respect to another detainee was the extentof allhis false allegations; simplybecausehe admitted that he falsely implicated some people here does not mean that he
was truthful at all other times. Second, s sole identification of the Petitionernamedhim as "191

# -liliiii' Gov. Ex. 1 at 9. Petitioner denies that this is his actual name, or that he ever used the kunya, _" He argues that identificationsbasedonthis name areproblematicbecausellllllis
a fairly common nickname inArab countries, somewhat equivalent to to theuse of "Joe" or "Buddy" in this country. Tr. at 83-84 (Apr. 16, 2009); see also Pet. Ex. 55 (Classified Tr. of Feb. 26, 2009 Status Conference) at 23 (Government represented that

# liliiiiis a very common name. If you run the

## name~hrOUgh [a search of the Government's records] you will get thousands, potentially tens of thousands of documents or hits."). The Government admits that there is confusion over who "191

­ 

# liliiii refers to in this context. Tr. at 14-15 (Apr. 17, 2009).

The number 191 refers to the detainee number assigned at Bagram. The Government "preliminarily" admitted that two detainees were given this same number

-- bothAli Ahmed and 

# - -28­

# - Id. at 14; see Pet. Ex. 120 (IBN. Memorandum for Commander (Nov. 5, 2007)) at 10 n.51.13 To further confuse matters,

# 1IIIIIIIIactually admits to having had military training. Pet. Ex. 120 at 10 n.51. On this record, therefore, 

### it is completely unclear to whom the words "191

# -liliiii refer Petitioner, or someone else. The detainee number, of course, is central to the allegation of training as well as the rest of the Government's case. Third, the Government argues that the fact that made the allegation that
_ received training in the same interrogation session where he made inculpatory statements about himself is indicative of his honesty and reliability. The Court finds this fact to be of limited significance. Any effort to peer into the mind of a detainee at Bagram, who admitted to fearing torture at a facility known to engage in such abusive treatment, simply does not serve to rehabilitate a witness whose initial credibilitymust be regarded as doubtful. Finally, reliabilityhas been cast intodoubt by At times,

13 This admission was made on the second day of trial. On the first day, the Government insisted that evidence showing that 

# 1IIIIIIIIwas assigned number 191 at Bagram was the product of a "typographical error" 

### inthe intelligencereport. Tr. at 144 (Apr
.. 16, 2009). 

# - -29­

### credibilityarenot 

# - Pet. Ex. 114 (ISN 

### tllllMemorandum for Commander (June 20,2008)) at 4. Bythe time of

his at Guantanamo Bay, long after he made the only allegation that he would make against the Petitioner, intelligencereports indicatedthat Pet. Ex. 69 

### These serious concerns compensated for by other pieces of the mosaic.

That is simply incorrect. No statement of any other witness corroborates that Petitioner received military training in Afghanistan. At most, the statements of other witnesses suggest thatPetitionerwas inAfghanistanat somepoint. They do not address the training allegation. TheGovernment argues thatthe surroundingdetailsprovidedby make the training allegation
more likely. However, it matters little that all these other witnesses place the Petitioner in a geographical area where militarytrainingwas a logisticalpossibility. Without more, the Court simply cannot credit the allegation of training as a justifiable basis for further detention. See Gharani, at 7-8. 3. 

### Traveling Athirdmajor allegation, andimportant tile in themosaic, 

### is 

# - -30­

# -- 

# - that Ali Ahmed traveled aroundAfghanistan anddid so inthe company of a band of the battlefield. This charge 

### is related to the fact that the Petitioner was andplaced inAfghanistan during a portion of time when he claims he was in Faisalabad.

# 1I11III the Government alleges, fled Afhganistan Pakistan, arrested crossed into where he was March of 2002. The Petitioner denies these charges, continues to assert that he remained at , and never entered Afghanistan except when he was detained at Bagram. Gov. Ex. 42 (IBN 692 FM 40 (Dec. 12, 2003) at Ii Traverse at 26-29; 12. He attacks the Government's evidence that he was identifiedas

# .on theground that the statements weremade byunreliable witnesses, some of whom had undergone torture in the past or feared the use of torture in the future. Traverse at 34-51. Demonstrating that, he argues, reveals that the allegations of his travel to Afghanistan are not true.Turning first to the point about_the Government sought to buttress its mosaic theorybypresenting evidence thatlllllllll petitioner._" This name, it alleges, is his "kunya," a nickname of sorts. The practice of

-31­

# - taking on a kunya is common inArab countries. Gov. Ex. 7 (Decl. of "Names, Aliases, Kunyas and Varients") at 1-2. It is also a common practice among terrorists,
as it serves as a method for concealing their true identities from enemy forces. Id. at 6. Althoughthe Government agreedthat themereuse of a kunyais not, in and of itself, sufficient evidence to justify detention, Tr. at 128 (Apr. 16, 2009), 

### it argues that use of the 

### kunyalllllllll is central to this case because it casts significant doubt onAli Ahmed's account of his activities, and also demonstrates that each of the Government's witnesses provides credible evidence. The latter point is based on the fact that Petitioner

# 1IIIIIIII
See supra, at Part III.C. Petitioner denied to an interrogator ever using the kunya. Gov. Ex. 8 at 2. The Government submits that the numerous independent identifications of the Petitioner as_ cannot simply be a coincidence, and that it must be true that Ali Ahmed in fact does go by the 

### namellllllll Gov's Mot. at 24, 28. The evidence the Government relies on to support its mosaic theory is problematic in several key ways. First, identification has been cast in significant question, due to the fact that it was elicited at Bagram amidst actual torture or fear 

# - -32­

# - of it. There are also serious questions about the particular individual who he identified at Bagram.
_ appears to be a fairly common kunya, Pet. Ex. 55 at 23, and the obvious confusion
over the record-keeping at Bagram does not make identification of this Petitioner

# a~ as opposed

# tollllllll

a reliable one.

See supra, atPart
. III.C. There 

### is noway toknowwhether the Government's informants
were staring at the same person, or if they were looking at completely different people. Without more, their identifications cannot carrythe weight that the Government places
on them. There are also problems with the relationship of the kunya evidence to the overall theory. Again, assuming that the Government's information 

### is true, the immediate implications of it
are not as damaging as the Government argues. If Ali Ahmed 

### is 

# liliiii it suggest that lied about least of does he at some his story. Also, it suggests that he entered Afghanistan at some point, andwas lateridentifiedtohave receivedmilitarytraining. As demonstrated above, however, these allegations do not bear independent scrutiny because of the gaps in the record, and thus 

# -

-33­

# - cannot be upheld in their own right. Accordingly, the predicate for establishing Ali Ahmed's identity aslllllllcannot sustain the Government's theory. 4. Evidence was offered to establishthat AliAhmed's undisputed stayat a guesthouse inFaisalabadi called , supports, at least inpart, the conclusionthat he is a substantial supporterof al-Qaida and/or the Taliban, as well as a trainee and fighter for
one or both of those groups. The validity of this argument rests in large part on a guilt-by-association theory: i.e., the Government argues that because others at the guesthouse were involvedwithterrorist groups, and the Petitioner stayedtherefor
a substantial period of time in their company, without having to payfor food orrent, he toomusthavebeen a terrorist. Combining these facts with the allegations that he trained and traveledwith terrorist forces in Afghanistan, the Government believes the conclusion is inescapable that Petitioner is a member and/or substantial supporter of al-Qaida and/or the Taliban. The Government is notcontending that staying at a guesthouse is per se evidence of terrorist activity in this case. Rather, such evidence provides "one more piece of the mosaic," which, when viewed as a whole, depicts Ali Ahmed as a member of enemy forces whose cover story simply has too many holes in it to be credited. 

# -

-34­

# - The Government points 

### out that
_ the fighters who 

# IIIIIIII said the Petitioner traveled with

-- also stayed at Gov. Ex. 5 Gov. Ex. 34 (June 19, 2002)) i Gov. Ex. 23 at 3-4. These

# .men admittedto fighting onbehalf of enemy forces, along with another guest staying at the house,

_ Gov. Ex. 5 at 1 (reporting
_ admission of fighting) i Gov. Ex. 34 at 2 (reporting

# liliiii admission) i Gov. Ex. 30

# II1II (June 24, 2003)) at 1 (reporting admission)
.

information with all the other evidence it has presented, the Government argues that the logical inference is that Ali Ahmed was also involved with these terrorist groups. Tr. at 80-82 (Apr. 17, 2009)
. The evidence, as discussed above, is problematic. 

# 1IIIIIIII who attested to horrendous incidents of torture, at one time gave inculpatory statements about Petitioner, at another time recanted those statements, and yet at a third time re-affirmed them. Further, identification of Petitioner 

### is plagued by 

# - -35­

### at 3; Pet. Ex. 45 

# - the doubts discussed supra, at Part III.D.2. Finally equivocal $tatement that Petitioner

# liliiii simply 

### is not the material of which a reliable hearsay identificationismade. Once those pieces of the 

### mosaic have been removed because of their unreliability, the Government is left with what 

### is essentially a charge of guilt by association. The problem with this charge is that there is no solid evidence that Ali Ahmed engaged in, or planned, any future wrongdoing while There is no evidence that he was arrested with any weapons or other terrorist paraphernalia; nothing of this kind was found 

### in his locker. Pet. Ex. 6 at "18-20. Though others at the House,

# II1II

, admitted their affiliation with al-Qaida, they didnot implicateAliAhmed inanyterrorist activity. Pet. Ex. 36

Ali Ahmed was There is ample evidence in the record to indicate that guesthouses are common features of the region, serving as way stations for impoverished young men spending time away from home. 14 

### See, e.g., Pet. Ex. 7

14 

### On the other hand, there is also evidence that guesthouses served essentially as barracks for terrorist fighters 

# - -36­

# - (Decl. of (Nov. 30, 2008)) at**~5.** As noted, noweapons were found or seized during the arrest of

_Petitioner. Pet. Ex. 6 at**~~18-20.** It is 

### likely, based on

evidence in the record, that at least a majority of the

# IIIIIIII
Ji guests were indeed students,IS living at a guesthouse that
was located close to a university. Pet.'s Mem. Of Points and Authorities inSupport ofMot. For

### J. at 30-31 n.21-22; but seeTr. at 74 (Apr. 16., 2009) (demonstrating that Government contests remaining individuals were students). Further, even though the police arrested all of the men staying at the House, they appear to have ignored

# II1II the man who operated the House. If the was such a hotbed of terrorist activity, it is incomprehensible that its operatorwas not, at a minimum, detained for questioning. The evidence does not demonstrate, even as to provides associational guilt, that Ali Ahmed's stay at justification for his detention.

who had retreated from the front. Gov Mot. for 

### J. on Record., Ex. 1 (Decl. of , "BackgroundDeclaration

- Guesthouses") at 1.IS Neitherparty**ca~identif** num.ber of guests at the exact butparties agreed is a reasonable number. Tr. 17, 2009). individuals arrested there were detained at Guantanamo Bay and subsequently released; the Government represented that this was likely part of the AdministrativeReviewBoardprocess, andnotbecause theGovernment determined that the two were not lawfully subject to detention. Tr. at 108 (Apr. 17, 2008). at 85 (Apr. 

# - -37­

# - Nor is the Government's case strengthened by the charge that
a
man whom the Government has, at times, alleged is a "swornmember ofal-Qaida," training-campoperator, travel facilitator', andmajor figure in the planning of 1999 attack against the United States. Factual Return at see Tr. at 78-79 (Apr. 17, 2009)**~28** n.2.; but (explaining that disputes charge that he is sworn member of al-Qaida)
. The Government presents strands of evidence to tie

# 1111
It points out that one detainee claims that he
was the director of a guesthouse inPeshawar, as well as a "Yemeni" guesthouse in Faisalabad. Gov. Ex. 27 (ISN 707 FD 302 (Sept.

# til 2002)) at 1. The reliabilityof this statement is establishedvia
a weak inference that the witness knew based on the witness' visit· to a different guesthouse Of.

stayed at Tr. at 77-78 (Apr. 17, 2009). It also points to the

at some point, Gov. Ex. 44
_ FM-40

The Government seeks to weave these disparate strands of evidence so as to suggest that and thereby strengthen its claims of Petitioner's 

# - -38­

# --- ... associational guilt. The fabric

-- or mosaic

-- simply will not hold; the connections are too weak and attenuated. As a final attempt at providingmore tiles for its

# l1licorner of the mosaic, the Government submitted for the first time on the initial day of the

Petitionermade an oral motion to strike the evidence.**~he** Court denied the motion, but made it clear toparties that this decision wouldbe subject to

-39­

# - reconsideration after it had had an opportunity to hear all the evidence. The Court has elected to reconsider, and concludes that the evidence shall not be admitted. Havingheard all of the testimony now, and in particular the testimony about the document and the context of its retrieval, the Court strikes the document on the grounds that its prejudicial value far outweighs any probative value. 11 See Fed. R. Evid. 403. (It shouldbe noted that there is absolutely no evidence that the Petitioner either wrote or understoodRussian, the language inwhichthe document waswritten. Cf. Gov. Ex. 43 at 1 (recounting Petitioner's statement thathehad to communicate with Russian guest using "hand signals"). ) 5 •
An additional tile inthe Government's mosaic is the evidence

11 nm was t ere. nthadalreadypresentedevidence**purp~** a haven for terrorist activity,
...... that

# _men withadmittedconnections 

# -

-40­

# ...

justification for detention; rather, according to the Government, it lends credence to other evidence that casts Ali Ahmed as more than an innocent student captured in the wrong place at the wrong time.



# ... -41­

# -

-

-42­just the four corners of the document, there is no indication that

# 1IIIIIIII

cannot be credited as a piece of evidence that contributes in any way to a finding that it is more likely than not that Ali Ahmed was legally detained under the AUMF. IV. CONCLUSION For all the foregoing reasons, and for the reasons stated during the Hearing held onApril 16-17, 2009, the Court grants the petitionfor a writ of habeas corpus. The Government has failed to prove, for all the reasons statedabove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that AlIa Ali Bin Ali Ahmed was "part of, or substantially supported, Taliban or al-Qaida forces or associated forces that are engagedinhostilities against the UnitedStatesor its coalition partners." As to the claim of participating in fighting, the Government produced virtually no credible evidencei as to the claim of receiving military training, the conclusory nine-word hearsay statement by does not show that it is more likely than 

# - -43­

# - not that he received such training; as to the claim that he traveled around Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002 in the company of terrorist fighters fleeing the battlefield, even if the Government had proven this charge, which it did not, such a fact would not constitute substantial support; as to the evidence that he stayed at , the Government has certainly proven that he stayed there, but has utterly failed to present evidence that he was a sUbstantial supporter of al-Qaida and/or the Taliban while he did stay there; as to the Government's position about the significance of locating Petitioner's alleged kunya on a list, the Court finds this argument without any merit whatsoever. When taken all together as facts which comprise a mosaic theory, the evidence does not satisfy the Government's burden of proof: i.e., the Government'spicture doesnot establishthat itis
more likely than not that Petitioner fought for the Taliban, that he receivedmilitarytraining, thathe traveled inAfghanistanwith terrorists fleeing from the scene of war, that his stay at

# l1li 

# II1II demonstratedhe was a supporter of al-Qaida,

Mindful of the limitations on the scope of the remedy in this situation, see Kiyemba v. Obama, 555 F.3dat 1024 (D.C. Cir. 2009), the Court further orders the Government to take all necessary and 

# -

-44­

# - appropriate diplomatic steps to facilitate Petitioner's release forthwith, and to report back to the Court no later than June
as to the status of Petitioner's release.


### lsi May _, 2009 Gladys Kessler United States District Judge Copies to: Attorneys of Record via ECF



# - -45­